Warren Gatland has emerged as the man wanted to coach the British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia in 2013. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

Warren Gatland, who celebrated his second grand slam in five years as Wales coach after Saturday's16-9 victory over France in Cardiff, will be asked to head the Lions in Australia in 2013 but has yet to decide whether he will take the job. Gatland, the New Zealander who spent three years in charge of Ireland from 1998, went to South Africa with the Lions in 2009 as part of the management team. Ian McGeechan was the head coach then but Gatland will be interviewed by the Lions committee within the next month and offered the position.

"The Lions is not something I am thinking about right now," said Gatland after Wales's third grand slam in the last eight seasons. "It is a question for tomorrow. I know I am in the frame and the Welsh Rugby Union has given me support. If the offer did come along it would be a huge honour, but there are a number of things to put in place before that. I do not know what their requirements are and I am not sure whether they can afford me!"

The Lions want the head coach, who is expected to be announced by the beginning of May, to take a year's sabbatical from coaching his country, or club, so that he can concentrate solely on the tour to Australia, the country Wales visit this summer.

It is understood that the WRU has agreed to release Gatland for a year from this summer. Rob Howley would take over as acting Wales coach, but Gatland still has to satisfy himself that his prolonged absence would not jeopardise his goal of getting Wales to beat the major southern hemisphere nations on a regular basis.

Wales failed to follow up their past two grand slams, in 2005 and 2008, something Gatland is anxious not to repeat. "We have to become consistent," he said. "I want us to challenge the top teams in the world. We have a young side and over the next two or three years I think we can do that."

The victory over France, which came two days after the death of the Wales 1976 grand slam captain and No8 Mervyn Davies, meant that Gatland became the second coach in Six Nations history, after Bernard Laporte, to win a second grand slam.

The only try of the match was scored by the 21-year old Gloucester-born wing Alex Cuthbert, who at the start of the season was unsure if he would break into the Cardiff Blues' starting line-up as he was on a £20,000 a year development contract. Saturday's win was worth £90,000 to players such as Cuthbert who had played in all five matches this tournament. "It has been incredible," said Cuthbert. "If you had said to me at the start of the year that I would be playing in the Six Nations, never scoring the try in the grand slam match, I would not have believe it. I have a lot to learn but the big thing about this team is that our best days are to come."